Sting

[Pip Piper]

Hello,

I have joined this forum in the hope that someone can offer me some advice, not about bees, but their sting. About two years ago I was stung on the nose (to the amusement of my family!) in Spain. After the swelling and normal symptoms, it cleared up but returned soon after. It does not hurt nor appear to have any remnants of sting left, but I have a red blob on nose which will not go! I have been to a doctor and dermatologist but both have drawn a blank. I suppose it is too late to treat now, but just wondered if I am going to have this for life.

Thank you so much in advance if any of you can throw any light on this problem.

 

[Little John]

You could try using a silver nitrate stick to burn away the top layer of skin, allowing new skin to grow in it's place, but I'd have thought that the people you've already consulted would have recommended that ... I wonder why not ?

But - it's still best to take medical advice on this - so suggest you ask your doctor about whether silver nitrate might be worth trying.

'best
LJ


Forgot to add - with silver nitrate there IS a risk of colouration when exposed to strong sunlight - which would be relevant in Spain (less so in the UK), so maybe that's why it hasn't been considered.

Salicylic acid might be worth considering - ask your doctor though ...

Good luck.

 

[joctcl]

Are you sure it was a bee sting?
I have been stung plenty of times on the face and have no marks.
Did you scratch at it or did it become infected?
I am not an an advocate of home remedies and would consult a second consultant dermatologist.

 

[Pip Piper]

Thank you Little John and Joctcl for your comments. I have actually used salicylic acid in beauty products (and yes, kept out of the sun being in Spain) so not sure if this would be successful, but will certainly think along these lines now.. and no, I am not sure if it was a bee - could have been a wasp but we did have a nest under the eaves and I remember at the time Googling photos of the bee/wasp in question and coming to the conclusion it was a bee. It wasn't infected nor rubbed a lot. Strangely enough, my husband got stung on the nose recently too (which caused amusement too!) but he has no lasting mark like me. Guess I am just unlucky, its just annoying though..

 

[Little John]

I am not an an advocate of home remedies and would consult a second consultant dermatologist.

Home remedies ... ? Silver nitrate and salicylic acid were compounds of choice back in my NHS days .
SN in particular was a good method of flattening scar 'puckering' which often followed the use of deep mattress sutures. But this wasn't on the face - hence my advice for a medical consultation.

Pip - good luck with trying to sort this out. Didn't realise you were of the female persuasion, as your profile shows you as a bloke

Within the many hundreds of stings I've had over the years, one or two never really healed properly - I guess the venom must have destroyed an area around the puncture site - and which continued to exude fluid through a small fistula which developed, which only formed a temporary crust. The problem was that the puncture wound was refusing to heal from the 'bottom-up', so to speak.

My only source of salicylic acid was 'Compound W', a wart remover, so I applied that to burn-off the top layer of skin which then allowed healing to commence from the sub-dermal layer.

But - as a pensioner - appearance is no longer a priority for myself.

I hope you manage to sort this out - it sounds a bl##dy nuisance.

LJ

 

[Edwardking]

Didn't realise you were of the female persuasion, as your profile shows you as a bloke

LJ

Why are you assuming that Pip is female? The phrase 'my husband' can no longer lead you to assume that this means it's a female author!

 

[Pip Piper]

Thank you so much Little John, I will continue to think along these lines, but I think it may be one of the ones you mentioned that just don't heal.. I think I am resigned to it being a nuisance! As my father says, "once you get to 50 nobody notices what you look like anyway!". And apologies too Edward King, technology and me do not get on, and I have changed my profile to 'female' - you are totally correct. Changing the subject, after a recent trip to Italy, we are becoming more interested in all the different types of honey now - its all very fascinating and educational! Thank you.

 

[enrico]

Deleted cos of an error....sorry!
E

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Hello,

I have joined this forum in the hope that someone can offer me some advice, not about bees, but their sting. About two years ago I was stung on the nose (to the amusement of my family!) in Spain. After the swelling and normal symptoms, it cleared up but returned soon after. It does not hurt nor appear to have any remnants of sting left, but I have a red blob on nose which will not go! I have been to a doctor and dermatologist but both have drawn a blank. I suppose it is too late to treat now, but just wondered if I am going to have this for life.

Thank you so much in advance if any of you can throw any light on this problem.

Occasionally I find a sting does leave the barb in my skin, visible as a tiny black dot. Normally this is carried out by normal cell growth and surface erosion but I have on infrequent incidents found the visible dot seems to persist and irritate, possibly deeper penetration? When this happens I use a sterilised sharp sewing needle and gritted teeth to dig it out, whereupon the irritation clears up. Maybe you have a very tiny bit still buried and are suffering a reaction to it.

 

[Pip Piper]

Thank you Gilberdyke John for taking time to reply. It sounds logical what you suggest but I frequently look with a magnifying mirror and think there is no barb left, at least I cannot see anything. Will keep studying it though and hope it comes to the surface. Thanks again.

 

[Teemore]

Hi Pip Piper,
Stings on my hands always leave a small purple-ish dot (not quite the sise of a pin head)which disappears, much like Gilberdyke John describes. In my case the barb has definitely not been left in the skin, I think it is the reaction of the venom to the thicker skin on my hands and fingers. These "dots" only persist for a month or so - not the two years that you have encountered.